“The evidence that is available from EFSA firmly points to the need for a full precautionary ban on this bee killing pesticide. While Fipronil is already banned in many EU countries, bees don’t stop at national borders,” Herman van Bekkem, ecological farming campaigner for Greenpeace, said in a statement.

Fipronil is used in more than 70 countries on more than 100 crops, reports the Guardian, and the European Food Safety Authority labeled it a “high acute risk” to honeybees. The high number of honeybee deaths means serious impacts to food production. Bees are responsible for every third bite of food—doing important pollinating work for free. Their survival is crucial to producing food and keeping food costs down.

“To stop their decline, the Commission must ban this pesticide and swiftly develop a comprehensive plan against the wider chemical assault that pollinators such as bees face every day,” said van Bekkem.

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About Author

Jill Ettinger is the senior editor and featured columnist on EcoSalon and sister website Organic Authority. She is also the site co-director at Eat Drink Better. Jill is the director of social media for EcoSalon and Organic Authority.
Jill’s writing has been featured in The Village Voice, MTV, Reality Sandwich and Global Rhythm as well as the anthologies “Towards 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age” (2009, Tarcher/Penguin) and “What Do You Believe?” (2009, Outside the Box).
A focus on food policy, veganism, wellness, music and world cultural expressions, Jill blends the mystical and modern as she explores what our shifting food, fashion, culture and creative landscapes will look, sound and taste like in the future.
Jill spent more than a decade as a sales and marketing manager in the natural foods industry and regularly consults with and supports emerging brands and organizations in creative communication, social media and event production.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and future foodie, their daughter Imogene. Twitter @jillettinger | www.jillettinger.com.